Pellegrina Concert


Pellegrina are presenting another fabulous concert -
A Baroque Tribute to St Cecilia featuring Chamber masterpieces of the Italian Baroque by Scarlatti, Corelli, Handel and others

Click here for more details

Venue: All Saints Church, Blackheath, SE3 OTH


Date: 21 November, 2008 at 8pm


Tickets £10 available on the door or by calling the Pellegrina Ticketline on 07864 093 042

LUTE SONG AND POETRY CONCERT, LONDON, NOVEMBER 11th


Sister Awake!
A concert of poetry and lute song depicting women’s lives in Tudor and Stuart England

Jeni Melia (soprano)
Kathryn Hamilton-Hall (reader, ballad singer)
Christopher Goodwin (lute, baritone)

Tuesday 11 November 2008 at 6pm


Large Common Room, London House, Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square
A John Coffin Memorial Fund Recital in association with Goodenough College and the Lute Society

Free of charge, but booking essential. Please email valerie.james@sas.ac.uk to reserve a place


Valerie James
Administrator
Institute of Musical Research
School of Advanced Study
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU
http://www.music.sas.ac.uk/
Tel: 020 7664 4865

WGS Concert: Laura Snowden and Tom Ellis

Wealden Guitar  Society  are pleased to present a concert of guitar solos and duets with Laura Snowden and Tom Ellis (The first pupils to study the guitar at the Yehudi Menuhin School on Scholarships funded by the Rolling Stones).

The concert will be held on Wednesday 12th November at the Friends Meeting House, Grosvenor Park, Tunbridge Wells commencing at 8pm.

 Wealden Guitar Society has always been keen to promote younger players who are still studying or at the beginning of their careers, and this concert will be an opportunity to hear two outstanding players who already have a string of successful and prestigious concerts behind them. Yehudi Menuhin always wanted to include the guitar in his school, and, as it relies on donations for its funding, it was very pleased to accept the Rolling Stones offer to help fund the first pupils.

Laura and Tom will perform a programme of solos and duets to include music by carulli, Brahms and Rodrigo. Tickets will be available at the door at £10 (£6 for students, etc.). 

For further information please contact Ray Love on 01732 832459 

BGS Concert: Amanda Cook



Well , what were you doing last night? You could have been watching the telly. Or you could have been out for a meal? Or you could have been worrying about the recession?

On the other hand, you could have joined us last night for an absolutely magical evening of entertainment and high quality music at St Marks Church. The concert numbers were such that the whole evening had a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. This seemed to suit everyone (Amanda included). Apart from being a brilliant guitarist, she managed to charm the whole audience, sharing her thoughts and descriptions of the pieces she had prepared.


After a few words from our esteemed Chairman, Amanda Cook took to the stage and our musical journey commenced.

The journey started silently with an understated but evocative performance of Bogdanovic's composition, Mysterious Habitats which gradually wove a spell around the audience, instantly drawing everyone in. ( I made a mental note that the committee was not to pay Amanda until she told me where I could get a copy of the music!! Not that they listened to me.. and actually she kindly did tell me at the end of the evening!)

Once our attention was captured, Amanda took us back to the eighteenth century Spain with some fine Scarlatti Sonatas. And then we came back to the twentieth century with a performance of Brouwer's El Cameron Negro which as she explained was based on a love story from a book of African legends which Brouwer skillfully mixed African Cuban rhythms and melodies. Her interpretation with its subtle mix of light and shade was conveyed with passionate energy. It totally took our breath away.

After interval, the journey continued with a moving performance of two pieces especially composed for her by William Lovelady, The Sounds of Rain and The Morning in Omagh The Sun Rose Again (dedicated to the victims of the Omagh bombings). Both were highly intensive and complex pieces yet she delivered them so effortlessly.

Then it was off for a tour of Spanish Castles or 'Castillos de Espana', courtesy of Moreno Torroba. We had a musical tour of Alba de Tormes, Zafra, Torija and Olite. Amanda confided to us that she would love to record a performance of these pieces at each castle in Spain. But we were more than happy to hear them at St Marks (despite the unwelcome accompaniment of the church's geriatric central heating system).

The evening finished with a latin flavour, featuring Bardi's Callo Ciego and Baden Powell (no not the Scoutmaster) and Moraes Samba Em Preludio and finally a traditional latin piece Arriba Los Panuelos (arranged by Salcedo). The evening seemed to finish all to quickly!

No sound files for you (and its your own fault if you didn't come to the concert) but you can hear examples of her work by visiting her web site (http://www.amandacook.co.uk/)

BGS Concerts don't happen by themselves. They represent the work and input by a team of fantastic volunteers prepared to give up their time to make these nights a success. So I would like to pay tribute to Shirley Russell for collating the ticket sales; Stephen Pearson for organising the program; Becky Clifford for preparing the advertising flyers and publicity; Dave and Janet Smyth for coordinating the tickets and seating; Trevor Pike for doing an outstanding job with the catering; Stephen Dowdell, and Dave Hampton for assisting with the stage construction; Jack Strivens for helping with the seating and our esteemed Master of Ceremonies- the BGS Godfather- Dapper Den Stockton! Here he is below doing his party trick to celebrate a great evening!! Even though we begged him to stop...

Despite all her hard work with the ticket sales, Shirley unfortunately couldn't attend the concert due to illness and we wish her all the best for a speedy recovery. And Shirley, we are not taking any excuses for next years concert!

Performer Spotlight: Andy McKee


Visitors to this blog and other sites associated with this blog will no doubt agree that the BGS has a strong interest and commitment to the promotion of the Classical Guitar as the musical instrument of first choice.

However there are a number of other genres of guitar performance which equally deserve to be celebrated and enjoyed. For instance, performers associated with the folk/ new age genre such as John Renbourne have a style that is unique and a joy to listen. But would performers from the John Renbourne school get a ‘guernsey’ at any of the local music festivals? Probably not and that's a pity because I think there is a lot to be learned from their style and performance.

Recently my daughter sent me a CD of music written and performed by Don Ross and Andy McKee. (The thing that came from somewhere). And it is absolutely excellent for the quality of the performance and for the way performers such as Andy McKee really ‘push the envelope’ in style and performance. As seen below






Most of us here at the BGS travel along the Classical Guitar Highway but there are times where it's good to turn off and explore new territories of guitar music styles. In making these departures, I learn a lot more about the guitar and performance technique.


And as much as I enjoy Classical Guitar, I wish...really, really, REALLY wish that I could play like Andy McKee!!
Leave you with Andy's performance of Rylynn. What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment..


National Youth Guitar Ensemble NYGE


Please find attached a letter and audition application form for entry to the National Youth Guitar Ensemble of Great Britain (NYGE).

The audition fee is £15.00 and the two audition dates for 2009 are set for:
  • 11th January 2009 Chethams School of Music, Manchester

  • 18th January 2009 Royal Academy of Music , London
NYGE is looking for enthusiastic and committed guitarists between the ages of 13 - 18.
Applicants should be the equivalent standard of Grade 5 Distinction and above (the ensemble averages at a Grade 7/8 standard).
Successful applicants will be invited to attend two annual courses usually held Easter and in the summer.
The two courses set for 2009 are:
  • 9th - 14th April 2009 Residential course at Quorn and Easter Concert.

  • 11th - 14th Aug 2009 Residential course at the World Youth Guitar Festival
    http://www.wygf.org/
The application form and fee should be sent to the NYGE Coordinator by 23rd December '08.
For more information on NYGE please visit www.egta.co.uk/content/nyge or contact me on the details below.

I can post out more application forms and letters if required. Please feel free to pass this information on the other colleagues and students who may be interested.

I look forward to hearing from interested guitarists.

Regards,
Liz Larner
NYGE Coordinator
http://uk.mc276.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=lizzielarner@yahoo.co.uk
Tel. 0773 683 9134

Lute Society News and Events


1. SEMINAR AT THE IMR THIS THURSDAY
You are most welcome to attend the next 'Directions in Musical Research' seminar at the Institute of Musical ResearchThursday 9 October 2008 at 5-6.30 pm


Kirsten Gibson (Newcastle)Chair: Bonnie Blackburn (Oxford)


Prefatory Negotiations: Figuring the Author in Late Sixteenth- and Early Seventeenth-Century English Printed Music Books


While literary criticism has highlighted the 'appropriation' of print technology by writers such as Spenser and Jonson in acts of 'textual self-monumentalization' (Montrose, 1996), contemporaneous English composers such as Dowland, Byrd, Tallis and Morley also employed print as a means of authorising their works, promoting their fame and reputation and aggrandising their socio-cultural status as musicians. This paper will consider how such musicians fashioned their authorial identities within the prefatory materials of their printed music books.


Room NG 14 (North Block, Ground Floor), Senate House, Malet Street, London (click on 'Finding IMR seminar rooms', at http://www.music.sas.ac.uk/ <http://www.music.sas.ac.uk/> )


Nearest Tubes: Russell Square, Euston Square, Goodge StreetOpen to the public. Free of charge. No booking required


Prof. Katharine EllisInstitute of Musical ResearchSchool of Advanced StudyUniversity of LondonSenate HouseMalet StreetLondon WC1E 7HUTel: 020 7664 4866 (direct)katharine.ellis@sas.ac.ukhttp://www.music.sas.ac.uk/ http://www.music.sas.ac.uk/


2. COLLOQUIUM ON MONDAY 13th OCTOBER
Early Music International Colloquia 2008-9


A series of four talks by key figures in the early music revival hosted by Early Music (Oxford University Press)
Monday evenings at 8.15pm at Clare College, Cambridge
INAUGURAL LECTURE
Monday 13 October Latimer Room, Old Court
PETER HOLMAN (University of Leeds)
‘Demythologising Dolmetsch: Early Music in Victorian England’


3. EARLY MUSIC CONCERT IN EAST FINCHLEY
The East Finchley Arts Festival begins this weekend with a concert on Saturday 4 October by Duo Dorado, violinist Hazel Brooks and harpsichordist David Pollock. They will play a selection of baroque music, beginning at 12.30pm, and a sandwich lunch will be available after the concert.
There’s full information about all the Festival events at http://www.eastfinchleyartsfestival.org.uk/ – highlights include concerts by the Endellion String Quartet (5 October), a jazz evening with Viper’s Dream (8 October), Fauré’s Requiem and a Handel organ concerto played by Jennifer Bate (10 October), and a recital by the brilliant young cellist Gemma Rosefield with Michael Dussek (11 October).
There are concerts too by the Barnet Youth Music Centre on 12 October, and the Finchley Children’s Music Group on 19 October.
There’s a very special concert on Thursday 9 October, when the renowned French viol player and cellist Christophe Coin brings his Lupo Consort to the Festival. The concert will be given using no less than three original Jaye viols from the 17th century, some of which come from the Kessler Collection. For further information about the viols and about the newly-made viol being raffled to raise money for the Collection, see http://www.thekesslercollection.com/. Raffle tickets will be available at the concert.
I hope to see you at some of the Festival concerts.
Jill Davies
jill@daviesmusic.org.uk
+44 (0)20 8888 6155
07721 317030
20 Elvendon Road, London N13 4SJ
http://www.daviesmusic.org.uk/